Proliferation of Mouse Prostate Cancer Cells Inflamed by Trichomonas vaginalis

Our objective was to investigate whether inflammatory microenvironment induced by Trichomonas vaginalis infection can stimulate proliferation of prostate cancer (PCa) cells in vitro and in vivo mouse experiments. The production of CXCL1 and CCL2 increased when cells of the mouse PCa cells (TRAMP-C2 cell line) were infected with live T. vaginalis. T. vaginalis-conditioned medium (TCM) prepared from co-culture of PCa cells and T. vaginalis increased PCa cells migration, proliferation and invasion. The cytokine receptors (CXCR2, CCR2, gp130) were expressed higher on the PCa cells treated with TCM. Pretreatment of PCa cells with antibodies to these cytokine receptors significantly reduced the proliferation, mobility and invasiveness of PCa cells, indicating that TCM has its effect through cytokine-cytokine receptor signaling. In C57BL/6 mice, the prostates injected with T. vaginalis mixed PCa cells were larger than those injected with PCa cells alone after 4 weeks. Expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers and cyclin D1 in the prostate tissue injected with T. vaginalis mixed PCa cells increased than those of PCa cells alone. Collectively, it was suggested that inflammatory reactions by T. vaginalis-stimulated PCa cells increase the proliferation and invasion of PCa cells through cytokine-cytokine receptor signaling pathways.

Prevalence and Clinicopathological Significance of METOverexpression and Gene Amplification in Patients withGallbladder Carcinoma / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#Mesenchymal epithelial transition (MET) is a proto-oncogene that encodes a heterodimerictransmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase for the hepatocyte growth factor. Aberrant METsignaling has been described in several solid tumors—especially non-small cell lung cancer—and is associated with tumor progression and adverse prognosis. As MET is a potentialtherapeutic target, information regarding its prevalence and clinicopathological relevanceis crucial. @*Materials and Methods@#We investigated MET expression and gene amplification in 113 gallbladder cancers usingtissue microarray. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate MET overexpression, andsilver/fluorescence in situ hybridization (ISH) was used to assess gene copy number. @*Results@#MET overexpression was found in 37 cases of gallbladder carcinoma (39.8%), and geneamplification was present in 17 cases (18.3%). MET protein expression did not correlatewith MET amplification. MET amplification was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathologicalfeatures, including high histological grade, advanced pT category, lymphnode metastasis, and advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer stage. There was nosignificant correlation between any clinicopathological factors and MET overexpression. Nodifference in survival was found with respect to MET overexpression and amplification status. @*Conclusion@#Our data suggested that MET might be a potential therapeutic target for targeted therapyin gallbladder cancer, because MET amplification was found in a subset of tumors associatedwith adverse prognostic factors. Detection of MET amplification by ISH might be a usefulpredictive biomarker test for anti-MET therapy.

MicroRNA-374a Expression as a Prognostic Biomarker in Lung Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death, and adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic subtype. MicroRNA is a small non-coding RNA that inhibits multiple target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and is commonly dysregulated in malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression of microRNA-374a (miR-374a) in lung adenocarcinoma and correlate its expression with various clinicopathological characteristics.METHODS: The expression level of miR-374a was measured in 111 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung adenocarcinoma tissues using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. The correlation between miR-374a expression and clinicopathological parameters, including clinical outcome, was further analyzed.RESULTS: High miR-374 expression was correlated with advanced pT category (chi-square test, p=.004) and pleural invasion (chi-square test, p=.034). Survival analysis revealed that patients with high miR-374a expression had significantly shorter disease-free survival relative to those with low miR-374a expression (log-rank test, p=.032).CONCLUSIONS: miR-374a expression may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for predicting recurrence in early stage lung adenocarcinoma after curative surgery.

A Case of Rheumatoid Nodules Involving the Larynx / 대한이비인후과학회지

About 40% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis show extra-articular manifestations. The presence of rheumatoid nodules is the most common extra-articular manifestation, which is commonly seen at pressure points. Rheumatoid nodules can also occur in the lung, heart, and larynx. Laryngeal rheumatoid nodules may lead to phonatory and respiratory symptoms and can be mistaken for other medical conditions such as inflammation and neoplasm. Recently, we encountered a case of rheumatoid nodules involving the larynx in a 56-year-old woman with a 3-year history of rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome. Herein, we report the case with a review of the literature.

Branchial cleft cyst in the parotid gland in a human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient

In branchial lymphoepithelial cyst (BLEC), which is also known as branchial cleft cyst, the remnants of a branchial arch develop into a cyst, causing swelling. The first case of BLEC in the parotid gland was reported by Hildebrant in 1895. Since then, BLEC in the parotid gland has continued to be reported, but in rare cases. A 45-year-old man presented to our hospital with a swelling of the left cheek of approximately 6 months’ duration. The patient underwent a superficial parotidectomy and was pathologically diagnosed with BLEC. Of note, this was the first case of non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related BLEC of the parotid gland in South Korea. BLEC is a benign condition, but its treatment depends on the presence of HIV infection. In HIV-negative patients, BLEC does not require a further work-up to evaluate metastasis. Our case report describes the diagnosis and treatment of BLEC in a patient without HIV.

Loss of Nuclear BAP1 Expression Is Associated with High WHO/ISUP Grade in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) mutations are frequently reported in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC); however, very few studies have evaluated the role of these mutations in other renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtypes. Therefore, we analyzed BAP1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry in several RCC subtypes and assessed its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics of patients. METHODS: BAP1 expression was immunohistochemically evaluated in tissue microarray blocks constructed from 371 samples of RCC collected from two medical institutions. BAP1 expression was evaluated based on the extent of nuclear staining in tumor cells, and no expression or expression in < 10% of tumor cells was defined as negative. RESULTS: Loss of BAP1 expression was observed in ccRCC (56/300, 18.7%), chromophobe RCC (6/26, 23.1%), and clear cell papillary RCC (1/4, 25%), while we failed to detect BAP1 expression loss in papillary RCC, acquired cystic disease-associated RCC, or collecting duct carcinoma. In ccRCC, loss of BAP1 expression was significantly associated with high World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade (p = .002); however, no significant correlation was observed between loss of BAP1 expression and survival in ccRCC. Loss of BAP1 expression showed no association with prognostic factors in chromophobe RCC. CONCLUSIONS: Loss of BAP1 nuclear expression was observed in both ccRCC and chromophobe RCC. In addition, BAP1 expression loss was associated with poor prognostic factors such as high WHO/ISUP grade in ccRCC.

The Smad4/PTEN Expression Pattern Predicts Clinical Outcomes in Colorectal Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Smad4 and PTEN are prognostic indicators for various tumor types. Smad4 regulates tumor suppression, whereas PTEN inhibits cell proliferation. We analyzed and compared the performance of Smad4 and PTEN for predicting the prognosis of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Combined expression patterns based on Smad4+/– and PTEN+/– status were evaluated by immunostaining using a tissue microarray of colorectal adenocarcinoma. The relationships between the protein expression and clinicopathological variables were analyzed. RESULTS: Smad4–/PTEN– status was most frequently observed in metastatic adenocarcinoma, followed by primary adenocarcinoma and tubular adenoma (p<.001). When Smad4–/PTEN– and Smad4+/PTEN+ groups were compared, Smad4–/PTEN– status was associated with high N stage (p=.018) and defective mismatch repair proteins (p=.006). Significant differences in diseasefree survival and overall survival were observed among the three groups (Smad4+/PTEN+, Smad4–/PTEN+ or Smad4+/PTEN–, and Smad4–/PTEN–) (all p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent loss of Smad4 and PTEN may lead to more aggressive disease and poor prognosis in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma compared to the loss of Smad4 or PTEN alone.

Primary Pulmonary Chordoid Meningioma

Primary pulmonary meningioma is a rare disease, and chordoid meningioma is an uncommon variant of meningioma in the central nervous system (CNS) with a high recurrence rate. We report a case of primary pulmonary chordoid meningioma that presented as a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN). The SPN was resected by thoracoscopic wedge resection and was revealed to have characteristics of chordoid meningioma. After confirming the absence of a meningioma in the CNS by brain imaging, the nodule was diagnosed as a primary pulmonary chordoid meningioma. The patient remained disease-free after 26 months postoperatively. To our knowledge, this is the third case of primary pulmonary chordoid meningioma to be reported.